Warm Hearts and Positive Energy! | DC What’s Next Tour

Gratitude, Saying Thanks  //  18th January 2013

We woke up yesterday morning after just a few hours of sleep and we looked out the window hoping for a reminder of where we were that day. The bus was parked in a parking lot with buildings surrounding us that were not recognizable. But, somehow we knew we were close to home. I quickly remembered we were in DC and we were soon going to see some very familiar faces- the faces of some of our favorite people ever! ;)

As the attendees arrived and we opened the doors, we were feeling pumped! The whole crew had a sense of positive energy that was unlike anything else! As our friends walked in the doors and greeted us with warm hugs- we knew exactly where that positive energy was coming from! ;)

Yesterday, it hit me. We were in a room full of people (new friends and old) who made the choice to be there to do the hard work to make a difference in their lives AND the lives of others! As Mary shared her inspiring words, tears filled my eyes knowing that so many hearts were being changed! Knowing that so many incredible people are making the choice to live out their dreams and do the hard work is so heart warming! It truly is AMAZING!

We are so grateful for the AMAZING blessing of being surrounded by all of these incredible people (new friends and old)! Thank you to everyone who is doing the hard work… who have dreams in their mind that are not going to go to waste… who want to make this world a better place… not just for themselves, but for the lives of those around them! Thank YOU for warming our hearts and sharing your positive energy!

AMAZING Travel Adventures: What’s Next Tour Scenes from the Road

Celebrating the Everyday, Travel  //  16th January 2013

Hello Everyone!  We are now one week into Justin & Mary’s What’s Next Tour and we have already travelled all the way across the US from Los Angeles, CA to Orlando, FL and up to Charlotte, NC.  Life on the road is CRAZY!  One of the strangest things is waking up each day in a different time zone.  We have been taking a ton of pictures and sharing lots on Instagram.  Today we wanted to share a few of our favorites so far.  Enjoy!

Yes, that is a man playing the violin with a scary wolf mask in the middle picture!  NOLA was crazy! 

Be sure to follow along on Instagram @Liz_and_Ryan and checkout hash tags #whatsnexttour #whatsnextcrew.  Have an AMAZING wednesday!

A Giveaway that became so much more!

Gratitude, Saying Thanks  //  15th January 2013

As we reflected on 2012, we had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for our couples. Each and every one of them has left a special place in our hearts and we wanted to find an extra special way to thank them! As we continued to think about it, we thought that giving away a free session would be the perfect way of doing it… mostly because it would mean that we get to spend quality time with some of our favorite people! ;) (Is that selfish?!? ;) ). We did put a little poll out to our couples on facebook and they overwhelmingly decided that a free session was exactly what they would love to win! ;) So it was a win win for everyone!

But, we couldn’t end there… we know that the people our couples are surrounded by are pretty incredible themselves. Their family and friends have helped shape our couples into who they are and for that we are so grateful for them too! So, why not thank them as well by giving away a photo session to one of the voters from the giveaway!

After two weeks of voting AMAZINGNESS, we are SO EXCITED to be announcing the winners of the giveaways today- right here, right now! Let me tell you… the race to the end was CRAZY! ;) Darcy and Patrick and Stephanie and Justin blew our minds. They each wanted to win and ALL of their family and friends wanted them to win too! ;) It came down to the wire, but Darcy and Patrick came out on top with 330 votes! Wowza! ;) Darcy and Patrick, you are the winners of the 1^st Free Session Giveaway! Wahoo!

And the random winner from amongst the voters is Amanda Collins!!! ;) Amanda, you are the winner of 2^nd Free Session Giveaway!!

We are beyond excited about these two upcoming sessions and we will be in touch with the winners to chat about the details! ;)

However, it does not end there!!! Around 7:15 p.m. last night, we saw a Facebook post come across our feed that went like this:

At that moment… I was overwhelmed with emotions. Emotions of excitement and awe-inspiring gratitude. Ohh my goodness, they just took this contest to a whole new level. What started out as a giveaway for 2 very special couples turned into an effort that is going to touch the lives of so many more! We are blown away! Seriously!

We couldn’t end this giveaway without paying it forward. So, we decided to match Stephanie and Justin’s donation to the Red Cross. Instead of $70.00 they will be sending $140.00!

I started off this post by saying how grateful we are for our couples… but after the last 2 weeks, our level of gratitude has totally multiplied! (We didn’t think that was possible! ;) ). We are humbled by every single one of our couple’s hearts and we are so grateful to call them friends!!

Thank you to EVERYONE who took the time to vote! We are so excited to welcome all of our new friends to the Liz and Ryan Facebook community! Looking forward to sharing our passions with you all in hopes to help you live your AMAZING life every single day of your lives!

Live an AMAZING Life Smile at Strangers

Amazing Life Manifesto, Dreaming  //  14th January 2013

Have you ever heard that quote, “Keep smiling, it makes people wonder what you are up to?” How true is that? Smiling is so contagious and it automatically draws people in to see what you have going on! ;)

A few weeks ago, Ryan and I were out and about doing some last minute Christmas Shopping and Ryan was determined to make the experience bright! ;) Not only for us, but for everyone around us! He seriously was saying hi to everyone we passed! ;) He put a smile on his face and just did it! The reactions were kind of AMAZING! Pretty much everyone smiled back… and if they didn’t, they looked at us like, “Ohh, you are talking to me?!?” ;) And then they smiled! ;)

The power of a smile is pretty much awesome! You should try it, Smile at Strangers today, tomorrow and the next day! Not only will you make their day, but you will probably make your own day brighter too!

Make what you LOVE be what you DO!

Dream Big, Dreaming  //  11th January 2013

Make what you LOVE be what you do!  We often hear it but don’t let it really soak in….

It’s easier to stay in a job then to build a business from scratch.
It’s easier to look at Facebook and Twitter than it is to outline a book.
It’s easier to say nothing then it is to ask for something you want.
It’s easier to watch TV then it is to go exercise.
It’s easier to sit quietly in a crowd then it is to volunteer and speak up.
It’s easier to procrastinate than it is to DO.

But the problem is, if you choose easy, you will never truly know your own potential.  You will never be able to say what you LOVE is what you DO.